IPERION HSIntegrating Platforms for the European Research Infrastructure ON Heritage Science
The 4th #HSAcademy lecture on the topic “Past, present and future of citizen heritage science” will be presented online by Dr. Josep Grau-Bové on December 15th 2022, at 3 pm (Rome time).

Register here: www.iperionhs.eu/lecture-4-2022/

This lecture will address the key role that citizens can play in heritage science. Citizen Science has a long history. It has existed for as long as institutional science: interest in generating knowledge has never been limited to the ivory tower. Meteorology, nature preservation and astronomy are fields where passionate private citizens have carried out fundamental research. However, it can be argued that the last few years have seen a spectacular increase in the number and diversity of citizen science projects. This popularity has been driven by access to digital technologies, such as smartphones and social media, and a growing academic interest in participatory approaches.

More recently, citizen science has found useful applications in the heritage sector. Recent research has demonstrated that measurements produced by citizens can be reliable, of enough quality to complement or even replace other types of data collection, and to be used as part of decision-making in heritage management and conservation. In this talk, we will review what scientific tasks are well-suited to be done in collaboration with citizen scientists and which still require further development. We will also examine what research avenues remain open in citizen science beyond data quality assessment. Collaboration with citizen scientists may hold the key to many complex questions in heritage science: for example, understanding how damage is perceived or how to build community resilience against climate change.

Dr Josep Grau-Bove is an Associate Professor of Heritage Science at the Institute for Sustainable Heritage, University College London. With his team, he uses science and engineering methods to improve the preventive care of heritage. He has pioneered the use of many types of modelling and simulation in heritage, such as computational fluid dynamics and system dynamics. He is the programme director of the Sustainable Heritage MSc, a pioneering course where students can specialise in data science for cultural heritage, heritage science and heritage management. He is also the chair of the Heritage Science Group of the Institute of Conservation.